Quinault Tribe Applauds Arrest of Suspect of Hit-and-Run Tragedy

TAHOLAH, WASHINGTON — “On behalf of the elected officials and other citizens of the Quinault Indian Nation, I extend gratitude to the Grays Harbor County Sheriff’s Office and our Quinault Nation Police Department for the diligent and professional job they have done in locating and arresting a suspect in the murder of Jimmy Kramer and injury of Harvey Anderson,” said QIN President Fawn Sharp.

On Tuesday, May 30, the Grays Harbor County Sheriff’s Office arrested James D. Walker, 31, for the deadly incident at the Donkey Creek Campground on May 27. Walker was booked into the Grays Harbor County Corrections Facility for Homicide 2nd Degree. The investigation revealed the identity of three passengers in the vehicle: a 27 year old Hoquiam woman, a 29 year old Hoquiam man and a 30 year old Hoquiam woman.

Kramer was taken off life support late Sunday night after he was declared brain dead.

“All of us were shocked and heartbroken by this incident, which robbed us of an outstanding young man, Jimmy Kramer,” she said. “We trust in the legal system and will continue to cooperate with the Sheriff’s Office and the continued investigation.”

President Sharp said the Tribe has received numerous calls and emails from well wishers near and far and expressed gratitude for the massive amount of support. “We have also received hundreds of calls from the news media. Their coverage most certainly helped in locating the accused, James Walker of Hoquiam.”

She said a number of reporters had expressed confusion about whether or not Walker had been yelling racist slurs and war whooping when he ran over the two young men. “It is not unusual for such confusion to arise in investigations involving racism, which could potentially lead to ‘hate crime’ charges in such cases. There were Quinault tribal members on the scene of the crime who did report to us that such racist slurs did occur. The report by the Grays Harbor Sheriff’s Office that they had no evidence of it does not make it untrue. We need to wait and see what fleshes out in the prosecution process. The important thing is that the suspect has been arrested. It does not mean that we can stop being concerned about racist behavior, which we have unfortunately experienced in far too many incidents through the years. But it does provide some degree of closure, and now this outstanding young man can be laid to rest.”

Walker’s arrest came about as a result of a tip developed by a Hoquiam Police Officer who was familiar with the suspect. The investigation continues and involves Deputies from the Grays Harbor County Sheriff’s Office, the Grays Harbor County Drug Task Force, the Hoquiam Police Department and the Quinault Indian Nation Police.

About The Author

Levi Rickert, a tribal citizen of the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation, is the publisher and editor of Native News Online. Previously, he served as editor of the Native News Network. He is a resident of Grand Rapids, Michigan.

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